European attendance ranking published

ZURICH – SC Bern and the Swiss National League A remain in first position in the International Ice Hockey Federation’s annual European attendance study.

Scroll down for the club and league rankings.

SC Bern, which eliminated regular-season winner ZSC Lions Zurich 4-0 in the quarter-finals yesterday, has another reason to celebrate. The club is in first place in Europe for the 15th consecutive time, averaging an attendance of 16,145 during the regular season.

The club from the Swiss capital is followed by two German club teams. Eisbaren Berlin moved up one place with 13,021 fans and Kolner Haie advanced from sixth to third place with 12,037 spectators per game. SKA St. Petersburg from Russia and Adler Mannheim from Germany remain in fourth and fifth place respectively with an average of 11,789 and 11,657, while Belarusian KHL team Dynamo Minsk fell from second to sixth place with 11,445 fans.

The same teams as last year hold places seven through nine (Finnish KHL team Jokerit Helsinki, the ZSC Lions Zurich from Switzerland and Frolunda Gothenburg from Sweden) while Germany’s Hamburg Freezers entered the top-10 at the expense of Slovan Bratislava from Slovakia.

Seven of the top-eight ranked teams are from cities that either held or will hold the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship between 2009 and 2020.

Several teams made some strong moves up the ranking. After earning promotion to the top league, the Malmo Redhawks improved from 29th to 17th place. Sparta Prague went up from 31st to 18th place and is now the only top-level team in the city after Slavia’s relegation and Lev’s withdrawal after a short stint in the KHL.

Dynamo Moscow progressed from 37th to 21st place thanks to the opening of the new Ice Palace that will co-host the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in May with St. Petersburg.

After a time-out due to financial trouble Spartak Moscow moved to the classic Luzhniki Sports Arena and has now entered the ranking in a strong position at 31st. Swiss club EHC Biel looks to have benefited greatly since playing in the newly-built Tissot Arena, shifting from 70th to 36th place, while Pirati Chomutov from the Czech Republic went up from 123rd to 66th after earning promotion to the top league.

The best-ranked club from a second-tier league is now Czech club HC Ceske Budejovice, 45th with an average of 5,492 fans.

The Swiss National League A (NLA) remains the league with the highest average attendance in Europe with 7,026. That’s 3.9 per cent more than last season and it’s the first time a European league has averaged over 7,000 fans in the regular season, mainly thanks to Biel’s new arena and the good numbers of recently-promoted SCL Tigers Langnau.

Germany’s DEL remains in second place and had a 3.6 per-cent growth to 6,647 spectators followed by the Russian-based Kontinental Hockey League (6,303), the Swedish Hockey League (5,849), the Czech Extraliga (5,406), Finland’s Liiga (4,249), the Austrian-based EBEL (2,890), Great Britain’s EIHL (2,719) and Norway’s Get-ligaen (1,936).

The French Ligue Magnus completes the top-10 moving up one place at the expense of the Slovak Extraliga. The French league had a 6.3 per-cent increase and has grown its audience in recent years thanks to addition of teams from bigger cities such as Bordeaux and Lyon. Six of the top-10 European leagues had growing numbers.

The NHL remains the best-attended league in the world and currently averages 17,484 fans, a slight growth from last year, led by the Chicago Blackhawks (21,816), the Montreal Canadiens (21,288) and the Detroit Red Wings (20,027).

The American Hockey League follows in second place in North America (fifth globally) and increased its average attendance to 5,865.

The third-most watched hockey league in North America is the major junior league WHL with an average of 4,312 fans while another team from the Canadian junior leagues, the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts, has the highest average in North America outside of the NHL with 13,741 fans.

The NCAA Men’s Division I, by far the most-followed college league, came in sixth place in North America with 3,432 fans led by the University of North Dakota – host of the upcoming 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship in Grand Forks – with 11,774 spectators per game.

The Asia League with teams from Japan, Korea, China and the Russian island of Sakhalin averaged 940 fans in the regular season, which would rank it 13th among European countries. The China Dragon, which played most of its home games in Qiqihar and Beijing, were first with 1,526 spectators followed by the Nikko Ice Bucks from Japan with 1,351 fans.

MARTIN MERK

Attendance figures in European hockey leagues 2015/2016

Club

Country

Average

Cap. %

1.

(1.)

SC Bern

SUI

16,145

94.24%

2.

(3.)

Eisbaren Berlin

GER

13,021

91.70%

3.

(6.)

Kolner Haie

GER

12,037

65.06%

4.

(4.)

SKA St. Petersburg

RUS

11,789

94.31%

5.

(5.)

Adler Mannheim

GER

11,657

85.71%

6.

(2.)

Dynamo Minsk

BLR

11,445

75.87%

7.

(7.)

Jokerit Helsinki

FIN

10,468

76.60%

8.

(8.)

ZSC Lions Zurich

SUI

9,818

87.66%

9.

(9.)

Frolunda Gothenburg

SWE

9,312

77.32%

10.

(12.)

Hamburg Freezers

GER

9,022

70.47%

11.

(13.)

Avangard Omsk

RUS

8,875

86.01%

12.

(10.)

Slovan Bratislava

SVK

8,819

87.71%

13.

(11.)

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

RUS

8,653

95.66%

14.

(18.)

Kometa Brno

CZE

8,429

109.47%

15.

(16.)

Dusseldorfer EG

GER

8,012

60.41%

16.

(14.)

Dynamo Pardubice

CZE

7,792

17.

(29.)

Malmo Redhawks

SWE

7,725

18.

(31.)

Sparta Prague

CZE

7,612

19.

(20.)

Sibir Novosibirsk

RUS

7,400

20.

(15.)

Djurgarden Stockholm

SWE

7,305

21.

(37.)

Dynamo Moscow

RUS

7,179

22.

(34.)

Amur Khabarovsk

RUS

6,972

23.

(19.)

HIFK Helsinki

FIN

6,937

24.

(40.)

Met. Magnitogorsk

RUS

6,788

25.

(22.)

Lausanne HC

SUI

6,692

26.

(24.)

Geneve-Servette

SUI

6,556

27.

(21.)

HV71 Jonkoping

SWE

6,537

28.

(27.)

EV Zug

SUI

6,486

29.

(25.)

Ak Bars Kazan

RUS

6,408

30.

(23.)

Salavat Yulayev Ufa

RUS

6,405

31.

(new)

Spartak Moscow

RUS

6,181

32.

(36.)

Linkopings HC

SWE

6,159

33.

(28.)

Fribourg-Gotteron

SUI

6,156

34.

(32.)

Farjestad Karlstad

SWE

6,122

35.

(26.)

Traktor Chelyabinsk

RUS

5,962

36.

(70.)

EHC Biel

SUI

5,896

37.

(54.)

SCL Tigers Langnau

SUI

5,868

38.

(39.)

HC Lugano

SUI

5,783

39.

(33.)

Dinamo Riga

LAT

5,780

40.

(47.)

Nottingham Panthers

GBR

5,713

41.

(53.)

Brynas Gavle

SWE

5,643

42.

(77.)

Bili Tygri Liberec

CZE

5,617

43.

(41.)

Vitkovice Ostrava

CZE

5,580

44.

(38.)

Karpat Oulu

FIN

5,564

45.

(73.)

HC Ceske Budejovice

CZE-2

5,492

46.

(74.)

Torpedo N. Novgorod

RUS

5,456

47.

(52.)

Orebro HK

SWE

5,446

48.

(46.)

Admiral Vladivostok

RUS

5,362

49.

(56.)

Lulea HF

SWE

5,354

50.

(69.)

HK Hradec Kralove

CZE

5,338

51.

(62.)

Nuremberg Ice Tigers

GER

5,315

52.

(51.)

HC Ambri-Piotta

SUI

5,298

53.

(45.)

Medvescak Zagreb

CRO

5,252

54.

(87.)

Barys Astana

KAZ

5,239

55.

(50.)

Tappara Tampere

FIN

5,225

56.

(17.)

HK Sochi

RUS

5,213

57.

(42.)

TPS Turku

FIN

5,175

58.

(79.)

Neft. Nizhnekamsk

RUS

5,145

59.

(85.)

Assat Pori

FIN

5,053

60.

(55.)

Skelleftea AIK

SWE

5,051

61.

(63.)

Augsburger Panther

GER

4,972

62.

(58.)

Vaxjo Lakers

SWE

4,935

63.

(44.)

MODO Ornskoldsvik

SWE

4,890

64.

(68.)

PSG Zlin

CZE

4,830

65.

(64.)

HC Davos

SUI

4,822

66.

(123.)

Pirati Chomutov

CZE

4,818

67.

(48.)

Kloten Flyers

SUI

4,790

68.

(66.)

HC Olomouc

CZE

4,757

69.

(61.)

Ocelari Trinec

CZE

4,730

70.

(71.)

Vienna Capitals

AUT

4,713

71.

(60.)

Ilves Tampere

FIN

4,657

72.

(59.)

Skoda Plzen

CZE

4,650

73.

(80.)

Iserlohn Roosters

GER

4,647

74.

(82.)

EHC Red Bull Munich

GER

4,603

75.

(83.)

Straubing Tigers

GER

4,598

76.

(72.)

Black Wings Linz

AUT

4,594

77.

(30.)

Leksands IF

SWE-2

4,576

78.

(75.)

Avt. Yekaterinburg

RUS

4,569

79.

(49.)

HC Litvinov

CZE

4,546

80.

(67.)

Belfast Giants

GBR

4,544

81.

(100.)

AIK Stockholm

SWE-2

4,530

82.

(57.)

Krefeld Pinguine

GER

4,520

83.

(147.)

Sheffield Steelers

GBR

4,489

84.

(76.)

Lowen Frankfurt

GER-2

4,473

85.

(119.)

Rogle Angelholm

SWE

4,275

86.

(78.)

CSKA Moscow

RUS

4,206

87.

(94.)

Bremerhaven

GER-2

4,198

88.

(43.)

Lada Togliatti

RUS

4,130

89.

(84.)

Stavanger Oilers

NOR

4,079

90.

(89.)

ERC Ingolstadt

GER

4,040

91.

(90.)

Schwenningen

GER

3,995

92.

(109.)

Met. Novokuznetsk

RUS

3,860

93.

(93.)

BK Mlada Boleslav

CZE

3,835

94.

(92.)

SaiPa Lappeenranta

FIN

3,818

95.

(116.)

Storhamar Dragons

NOR

3,770

96.

(126.)

Dresdner Eislowen

GER-2

3,759

97.

(96.)

HC Kosice

SVK

3,723

98.

(152.)

KooKoo Kouvola

FIN

3,712

99.

(95.)

EHC Olten

SUI-2

3,677

100.

(91.)

Lukko Rauma

FIN

3,625

Regular-Season average league attendance Europe & Asia

League

Attendance

1.

Switzerland - National League A

7,026

2.

Germany - Deutsche Eishockey Liga

6,647

3.

Russia - Kontinental Hockey League

6,303

4.

Sweden - Swedish Hockey Liga

5,849

5.

Czech Republic - Extraliga

5,406

6.

Finland - Liiga

4,249

7.

Austria - EBEL

2,890

8.

Great Britain - Elite Ice Hockey League

2,719

9.

Norway - Get-ligaen

1,936

10.

France - Ligue Magnus

1,827

11.

Slovakia - Extraliga

1,802

12.

Denmark - Metal Ligaen

1,361

13.

Asia League (CHN/KOR/JPN/RUS)

940

14.

Poland - Polska Liga

778

15.

Italy - Serie A

751

16.

Belarus - Extraliga

750

17.

MOL Liga (HUN/ROU)

660

Regular-Season average attendance European 2nd-tier leagues

League

Attendance

1.

Germany - DEL2

2,688

2.

Sweden - HockeyAllsvenskan

2,514

3.

Switzerland - National League B

1,977

4.

Czech Republic - WSM Liga

1,691

5.

Russia - VHL

1,287

6.

Finland - Mestis

850

Regular-Season average attendance North America

League

Attendance

1.

National Hockey League

17,487

2.

American Hockey League

5,865

3.

Western Hockey League

4,312

4.

ECHL

4,297

5.

Ontario Hockey League

4,117

6.

NCAA Men's Division I

3,432

7.

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League

3,355

8.

Southern Professional Hockey League

3,037

9.

United States Hockey League

2,647

Notes: The regular season is still being played in North America and in Great Britain, numbers as of 11 March 2016. Kometa Brno is over capacity due to two outdoor games.

PICTURE: SC Bern goalie Jakub Stepanek and Cory Conacher defend against ZSC Lions Zurich forward Auston Matthews in the Swiss quarter-finals. SC Bern remains the best-attended hockey club in Europe and the NLA the European league with the highest average attendance. Photo: Marcel Bieri / Photopress